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It is anticipated that those youngsters taking part in the initial study will be enthusiastic about an extra hour in bed - sleeping in late is seen as typical teen behaviour.

There is a risk they would just use that extra hour as an excuse to stay up longer in the evening.

Not all GCSE students stay up late to study (Image: Getty)

The trial will look at teenagers' sleep patterns and test whether a later school start time could improve their academic performance and wellbeing.

Professor Paul Montgomery, lead researcher from the University of Birmingham, said: "We want people to be aware that sleep deprivation in adolescents is a real problem which affects their functioning, their wellbeing and even their academic performance.

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"We want to work with schools, with parents, pupils, teachers, head teachers, support staff, local education authorities and civil servants to run a number of studies to find out what the ideal starting time is, and how schools can manage this."

The sleep study will focus on GCSE students from years 10 and 11 and the researchers are recruiting secondary schools across the UK to take part in the study.